Mac Magus
Mac Magus, sometimes known simply as The Magus, is an agent of the Interspacial Paramagic Affairs Agency's Midgard Precinct. His duties tend to involve more formality and regulation than traditional vigilanties, but for all intents and purposes, he acts as a superhero guardian of Earth, recently of Gaia in particular. Basic Information Name Charles Nathaniel Henreis Age 24 Race Homo Celestial (Interspacial Human) Physical Traits A man of about average height and stature, Charles' most distinguishing feature is his prosthetic left arm, itself a product of paramagical engeneering. Outside of this, his physique isn't drastically different from that of an average man who engages in regular exercise. He is a smoker, a habit that occasionally plagues him with shortness of breath and coughing fits when engaging in the more physically demanding aspects of his job. Personality Charles has only been on the job for four years, yet has already become hardened and cynical. He frequently displays a no-nonsense attitude coupled with pragmatic sensibilities that sometimes border on dogmatic. When working, his focus is always on completing the job as quickly and painlessly as possible, with as few civilians becoming involved as necessary. During his free time, he seems to soften a little, displaying a lighthearted side of himself that very few see. His sense of humor, while occasionally dark, is quirky and eccentric, and he has intense fondness for strawberry soda, pineapple pizza and reality television. His days off frequently end in a night of quiet relaxation, munching pizza and enjoying reruns of Survivor. Origin Born into Service Charles Henreis was raised in Cleveland, Ohio by his father Edwin Henreis. For the vast majority of his upbringing, he was told that his mother Daryl had fallen gravely ill shortly after his birth, eventually passing away a few months later. He had always had trouble believing this explanation for her disapearance due to the simple fact that in the only photograph he had ever possessed of her, taken shortly after his birth, she had seemed so healthy and full of life. His father's constant "business trips" and emotional distance only deepened his suspicions. Taking careful measures to avoid attracting the attention of his father, Charles had spent many years searching for the truth behind his mother's apparent death. One day, at the age of 14, he stumbled into his father's study. The study was the one room in the family household that had always been off-limits to him. Charles had always had his suspicions, but until that day, the door had remained locked. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he entered the study to find a vast collection of books written in a strange language he could not understand, and illustrated with drawings of creatures and places that wouldn't look out of place in a high-fantasy novel. When he was discovered in the study by Edwin, his father responded not with anger, but with sorrow, weeping bitterly at his son's discovery. He told Charles that he and his mother Daryl were not actually from Earth, or even from Earth's plane of existence. They had come from a dimension outside of time and reality known simply as Void. They, and by relation, Charles, were not truly human, but the decendents of humans who had long ago interbred with the ageless and celestial beings of the Void. Edwin and Daryl themselves were agents of a Void organization known as the Interspacial Paramagic Affairs Agency, a sort of pancosmic police force tasked with eleminating threats magical and paranormal in nature. They had been assigned to the Midgard Precinct, known to us as Earth. When Edwin and Daryl had fallen in love, and subsequently come to expect children, they had requested immediate decommissioning, the better to raise their forthcoming son properly. However, the higher ups at the IPAA were not willing to let go of two of its most valuable agents without receiving something in return. It was determined that Edwin and Daryl would be decomissioned and allowed to raise their son in Midgard, in exchange for signing the yet-to-be-born child up for his own term of comission with the IPAA, to become active in roughly twenty years. The couple begrudgingly accepted, sealing Charles' fate before he was even born. After revealing all of this to Charles, Edwin went on to explain that his mother had never truly died, but had chosen to leave Midgard for Void, unable to bear the pain of watching Charles grow up knowing full well that he would be drafted into service at the age of twenty. Edwin had been left to raise Charles alone, and he had done his best to keep the truth from him as long as he could... But with only six years remaining until the time came to work for the IPAA, his training would have to begin at last. Training The very next day after learning his true roots, Charles began training in the mystic arts under his father. He learned that his father's official designation within the IPAA was that of a Magus, a kind of pancosmic mage, while his mother had been an Oracle, a seer of events past, present and future. They had used their powers in conjunction with one another to keep the Earth safe. Edwin, unsure of whether or not Charles would be assigned a partner, did his best ot train his son in both the ways of the Magus and the Oracle, devoting three years of their short time to each field of study. It wasn't near enough time to reach mastery of either mystic art, but after six years of study and practice, Charles was able to gain a grasp on the basics and core principals of paramagic, the mystical force that exists woven through the fabric of this and every other reality. Initiation When his twentieth birthday finally came, Charles was collected from the Henreis family home by a pair of white-suited agents, who promptly transported him to the IPAA headquarters in Void. There, he was enrolled in a training class for new recruits where he learned the more advanced aspects of being a Magus. Inside of one short year, his proficiency with paramagic had improved drastically, and while he still had to consult books when casting more complex or difficult spells, he had become entirely capable of apprehending criminals. He was then issued his identification, his paramagic license, and his IPAA badge. Given the designation of Magus #447, he was assigned to Midgard Precinct, just as his parents had been. Life as Mac Magus Charles immediately established residence in New York City's Greenwich Village, where he found it easier to connect to the paramagic veins running through our reality. It was here that he set up his home base in an unassuming brownstone, from which he would use his limited abilities as an Oracle to watch the world around him and act when necessary, occasionally acting on orders received directly from higher command in Void. He eventually established the assumed name Mac Magus to keep his life as Charles Henreis more simple. At some point, he lost his left arm in the line of duty in an incident he seldom discusses. He now wears a Mechano-Metal prosthetic. In the three years since becoming an active agent for the IPAA, Charles has seen more than his fair share of action. He has been receiving assignments regarding Gaia with alarming frequency of late, leading him to wonder why the so-called Meta-Humans are viewed as such a threat to the IPAA's higher command. Abilities Mac's abilities range from the mundane to the fantastic, but the requirements are generally the same. Unless the spell in question has been memorized, a short incantation must be spoken, sometimes involving the use of highly charmed relics or ingredients. Mac must also draw on the power of his own life energy each time he casts a spell, forcing him to be judicious with particularly taxing feats of paramagic. He is able to recover spent life energy through a minimum of two hours sleep, or, alternatively, about a half-quart of concentrated mandragora juice. *'Frost/Flame Creation - '''The ability to create cold and heat at will. This has become Mac's ability of choice when in engaging in combat, particularly the use of frost, as it is generally safer to both the user and the target than most forms of offensive paramagic. The fire and ice can be summoned in any shape or form, but are most commonly thrown by Mac in the form of bolts that either explode into flames or envelope the target in ice on contact. *'Paramagic Energy Manipulation - 'The ability to manipulate paramagical energies in their purest form. These energies can be used to attack in the form of blasts, waves or "light grenades" that explode after a set period of time. However, raw paramagic can be highly dangerous to both the user and the target, and thus the energies are primarily employed defensively as shields and platforms. *'Reality Manipulation -''' The ability to manipulate certain aspects of reality. At present, Mac can create portals to other locations using solid surfaces as a medium and polymorph small objects into other objects at will. However, for more complicated morphs, such as transforming a living creature or creating portals that cover great distances, he must consult a book of complex incantations to draw out the necessary energies. *'Clairvoyance - '''The ability to, for lack of a better phrase, see beyond the capacity of normal human beings. When this ability is in use, he is capable of seeing through walls, as well as past deceptions such as disguises or invisibility. On a more meta-physical level, he can use this ability to ascertain a person's true nature, though the results of this particular use tend to vary so widely, he has chosen not to rely on it. He is also able to channel this ability through a scrying glass to view the world around him in general or focus on particular locations or events. *'Telepathic Empathy - '''The ability to communicate vague thoughts and emotions through mental link. It is similar to traditional telepathy in that it allows Mac to see the faintest glimmer of a person's thoughts and feelings, though specific words and images are extremely difficult to perceive. With great concentration, and at great cost to his life energy, he can transmit and receive whole expressions and images in the manner of a traditional telepath. However, he cannot maintain this for long without losing consciousness.